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Puerto Rico

Political repression plays out state by state — shaped by local institutions, prosecutors, and movements for defense. These are the documented political prisoners and cases the census holds for Puerto Rico.

477Documented
0In custody
346Released

Eras of repression in Puerto Rico

Where Puerto Rico’s entries fall across the census’s historical eras.

2000s 274 1950s 91 1930s 33 1980s 24 1970s 24 1940s 20

Documented cases

477 entries in the census — every one stays in the record, whether the case is open or closed.

V
Victor Manuel Figueroa
Released
Victor was one of approximately 1,500 activists arrested between 1999 and 2003 for civil disobedience at the U...
O
Oswaldo Manuel Merced
Released
Oswaldo was one of approximately 1,500 activists arrested between 1999 and 2003 for civil disobedience at the...
J
Juan Manuel Verges
Released
Juan was one of approximately 1,500 activists arrested between 1999 and 2003 for civil disobedience at the U.S...
G
Grego Marcano Vázquez
Released
Grego Marcano Vázquez was arrested for Minerva Bermúdez / MLK brigade trespass on Vieques range as part of the...
D
Deusdedit Marrero
Released
Deusdedit Marrero was a Puerto Rican Communist and independence figure convicted under Puerto Rico's 'Gag Law'...
G
Gilberto Martínez
Gilberto was a Utuado nationalist who survived the shooting of surrendered captives during the 1950 uprising w...
I
Ignacio Martínez
Ignacio was an elderly farmer imprisoned for fourteen days during the repression following the 1950 uprising b...
J
Juan Martínez
Juan Martínez was a nationalist identified by Dávila Marichal as having been imprisoned and later arrested aga...
C
Carmen María Pérez
Carmen María Pérez is identified in the account cited by Dávila Marichal as sharing a poorly ventilated cell w...
E
Edmidio Marín
Edmidio was a Jayuya nationalist cadet arrested at his Coabey home after the 1950 uprising. His interview quot...
P
Pedro Matos Matos
Pedro was the president of the Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño in Utuado, detained for two days and two...
E
Edgar Maury Santiago
Edgar Maury Santiago was a Puerto Rican independence supporter jailed for refusing federal grand-jury question...
J
José Mayol Sepúlveda
Released
José Mayol Sepúlveda was arrested during the 2000 civil-disobedience campaign against U.S. Navy training on Vi...
J
Jorge Maysonet-Hernandez
Released
Jorge Maysonet-Hernandez, a Puerto Rican Communist in his early forties, was one of the eleven defendants in t...
E
Eugenio Medina
Eugenio Medina, a son of Ramón Medina Ramírez, was convicted and sent to prison in the 1941 selective-service...
I
Israel Medina Colón
Released
Israel Medina Colón, a University of Puerto Rico law student and student-council president, received a 120-day...
J
José Ángel Medina Figueroa
José Ángel Medina Figueroa was a Utuado nationalist captured after the surrender at Damián Torres’s house duri...
J
Julio Medina González
Julio Medina González was a member of the revolutionary committee formed after the U.S. invasion, according to...
R
Ramón Medina Ramírez
Ramón Medina Ramírez was a Nationalist leader imprisoned after the 1941 selective-service prosecutions. The th...
I
Iván Darío Meléndez Carrión
Released
Iván Darío Meléndez Carrión was arrested on August 29, 1985. This entry's identity as a distinct Wells Fargo/...
J
José Meléndez Cotto
Released
José Meléndez Cotto was arrested for trespass on the U.S. Navy bombing range at Vieques, Puerto Rico, as part...
R
Ramon Mirabal
Released
Ramon Mirabal was the secretary-general of the Communist Party of Puerto Rico, arrested in October 1954 in the...
A
Andrés Miranda
Released
Andrés was one of approximately 1,500 activists arrested between 1999 and 2003 for civil disobedience at the U...
G
Graciany Miranda Marchand
Graciany Miranda Marchand, a former president of the Puerto Rico Bar Association, was detained during the Vieq...

Institutions in Puerto Rico

Prisons, jails, and detention centers in Puerto Rico that appear in the census’s case files.

Metropolitan Detention Center GuaynaboGuaynabo, Puerto Rico
95 cases
Federal Detention Center, GuaynaboSan Juan, Puerto Rico
93 cases
Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) GuaynaboGuaynabo, Puerto Rico
20 cases
MDC GuaynaboSan Juan, Puerto Rico
15 cases
La PrincesaSan Juan, Puerto Rico
9 cases
Vega Alta Women's PrisonVega Alta, Puerto Rico
4 cases
Arecibo Women's JailArecibo, Puerto Rico
1 case
District Jail, AreciboArecibo, Puerto Rico
1 case